Plan has been revised; updated document will be shared well in advance of future public hearing

Plan revisions are complete, but a public hearing on the Ecological System Plan will not be held until community gatherings are considered safe by public health officials.

The Minneapolis Parks Ecological System Plan public comment period concluded in May 2019. Since then, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) staff and consultants have been revising the plan text, recommendations and maps in response to comments received.

Plan revisions are complete, but a public hearing on the Ecological System Plan will not be held until community gatherings are considered safe by public health officials. Final adoption of the Ecological System Plan is on hold until the Board of Commissioners reconvenes with in-person meetings.

The Ecological System Plan document will be shared widely well in advance of the public hearing. A significant amount of time has passed since the public comment period closed, so the MPRB is committed to giving the public and all stakeholders ample time to review the final document and prepare comments for the hearing.

All future updates and information will be posted to the Ecological System Plan project page and emailed to project subscribers. Make sure you’re signed up for email updates by visiting the project page and entering your email into the “Subscribe to Email Updates” box. The MPRB appreciates the public’s patience as it works to complete the Ecological System Plan.


Project Background

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) and the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization (MWMO) worked together to create the first-ever Ecological System Plan. This plan will set a vision for making parks and public lands more friendly to the environment.

The Ecological System Plan will seek to first understand the ecology of the city and watershed, then plan for parks and public land management and improvements that benefit both humans and nature.

It will address specific threats such as climate change, decreasing water quality, explosion of invasive species, increasing runoff, and fragmentation of habitat. It will envision a more environmentally sound way of managing the impacts of the city, so that the city can be cleaner, greener, cooler and more efficient.